Jenny Odell

Based in San Francisco, Jenny Odell is a multi-media artist and writer whose work frequently deals with digital culture. Her new book "How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy is both a critique and a call to action, offering practical advice on how to withstand the siren song of the endless scroll and the cult of always-on productivity. So what does Odell deem worthwhile ways to spend time online? Turns out, plenty. Read on.

"In general, I think smell is an underrated sense. I love this collective accounting of things like 'dry cleaners in the 70s' or 'the mixed smell of plastic, vinyl, cardboard, and electronics manufacturing odor that was briefly present when you opened the package for a new video game cartridge.' These descriptions are even more poignant in the context of Metafilter, one of the oldest online communities."

"I prize this podcast because of how different it is from others: although very expertly edited, it doesn’t feel edited. There is almost never a host breaking in, nor a hyper-produced mix of conversations and sound. Instead, listening to an episode of 'Love and Radio' is like being lulled into hypnosis—just by listening to the personal story of one very interesting person. The first one I heard was about a woman observing her neighbors, but you can really start anywhere; they're all equally absorbing."

"I swear that if Joe [Veix] were not my boyfriend, this would still be one of my favorite things. I also remember how skeptical I was when he originally told me about wanting to ride a scooter 'into the mountains.' Well, he did it, and the result is a thing of beauty."

"In the last few decades, ospreys (extremely badass sea hawks) have started nesting near Richmond, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay. I once saw one flying majestically overhead on the Richmond bridge! But since that's a pretty rare occurrence, I like to visit the Golden Gate Audubon Society's osprey cam. Highlights include the time a male osprey tried to bring home an old baseball hat, which his partner eventually chucked into the bay."